You're Not Alone
by musicals4life
Summary: "I'm alone, I'll always be alone." Up's gone and Taz has never felt more alone. Inspired by Starkid's Starship. Taz/Up. RAted for Taz's foul language.
1. Chapter 1: I'm Alone

**I have been working on this fanfiction for days, literally. Just to get it posted to you guys! I can honestly say that I am so proud of how this turned out. This is probably my favorite fanfiction that I have ever written, and I hope you agree. I thought of this first part while at my dad's house tonight and I had to write it down, so I spent a good two hours or so writing down what I basically wanted via iPod (which sucked) and then embellished parts here and there. I think that Taz might be slightly au, but if you think about it the only person that she (in my world) loves has left her alone and she's scared, depressed, and confused and without anyone to turn to. With that being said, here is part 1 of 2 to my Tup fanfiction! (a fun note, I actually wrote the second part first and decided that I would write this as a prequel to it...it turned out to be a lot bigger than I expected!) (another note: I used google translate since my native language is English with a teeny bit of French sprinkled in, so I know squat about the Spanish language! Any spanish can be easily translated there!) And remember, your thoughts are greatly appreciated and I welcome them! I already have part 2 written, but if you guys review then I'll post it faster! :)**

* * *

><p>Taz stared coldly at the starship rangers who were loading into the docked starship, knowing that it was their fault that Up was leaving. They were taking Up away from her. The person in question came up next to her and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, Taz stiffened at the contact but didn't push him away. Eventually, she leaned into him, taking comfort in his presence.<p>

"Shouldn't jou be boarding jour ship now?" Up chuckled.

"Taz, I'm the commander, they have to wait for me." She laughed along with him and they both stood quietly for a moment, until Up spoke again, "I'll be back before you know it, don't worry about me." Taz had been cold towards him during this entire past week, and although he took a stab in the dark to guess what was wrong with the small girl, he knew that he had guessed right. Taz sighed and pulled away so that she was facing Up.

"I'm not worried, I know that jou will keep jourself safe, it's just…" she hesitated, "I will just miss jou," Up nodded and pulled Taz into a tight hug.

"I'll miss you too Taz, you're my best friend and I can't think of going one day without seeing you, let alone three months." Up sighed, thinking about the inevitable goodbyes that they would have to share. "I'll be back before you know it, this mission shouldn't take that long." Taz scoffed doubtfully and pulled out of his embrace, ready to leave him on the loading dock without any sappy goodbyes but he grabbed her hand, pulling her back to him. "No, I promise you. By this time in three months I'll be back and we'll spend all of our time watching the Karate Kid over and over again. Not the newer one though, the old one with Jackie Chan in it I know that it's your favorite." Taz smiled at his promise, burying her face into his chest. "Then, after we've watched the movie a hundred times, I'll treat you to some ice cream, or maybe frozen yogurt, I know that you've been watching your figure lately," Up laughed gleefully at his tease as he leapt out of the way of Taz's fists and grabbed them easily, already predicting her moves before she even landed any blows. Despite Up's teasing and their bickering, Taz was grinning widely.

She wrapped her arms around Up and hugged him tightly, which he returned. Up knew that it would be different without Taz being around him, she always brought out the best in him and it was her that had brought him back from when he had gone…soft. He shuddered to think of those times, but there was one bright spot in the entire ordeal; his relationship with Taz had grown stronger now that they've both seen the worst of each other, they still stuck together and were the best team the Starship Academy had ever seen. Although, sometimes he looked at Taz as more than just a friend, more than just another team member. Whenever he got those thoughts though, he scolded himself. He was her commander, forget the fact that the board would never allow it, it would be morally wrong. He shook his head at his thoughts and looked back down at Taz who was staring at him with teary eyes, which she quickly brushed away. Taz swallowed around the lump that was suddenly in her throat and she felt her eyes prickle with tears again, but she didn't allow herself to shed them. She reminded herself to stay tough, and they'd both get through this.

"It'll be _infierno_ with jou gone. Just promise that jou'll come back." Up smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"I will Taz, I'll make sure that I do."

Taz nodded and reluctantly pulled out of their embrace. She saw a ranger walking towards them and looking quite uncomfortable at their hug. Taz didn't care though; she never cared when it came to Up. Taz gestured in the boy's direction to Up. Up noticed the boy and after he put him at ease, the boy delivered the news that Taz was dreading.

"Commander Up, we're waiting for you to board." Up nodded and sighed, looking back at Taz standing by herself, looking quite lonely. Up rushed over to her and gave her a quick, reassuring hug and fell into step beside the other ranger. When they had gotten to the door of the starship, Up turned around and waved goodbye to Taz.

"Goodbye Taz! I'll be back before you can even miss me!" Taz laughed around her teary eyes and waved back.

"Goodbye Up! Jou better come back or else I'm gonna kick jour ass!" They laughed together and shared another short moment before Up stepped onto the starship and got ready for take-off. Taz saw Up waving at her from a window and she waved back towards him. She had longed to say more to Up before he left, longed to tell him how she felt about him, but she didn't want him to tell her that he didn't feel the same way about her. Ignoring her rambling thoughts, Taz waved at Up until she could no longer see his starship in the night sky. She thought of what UP had said right before he left, "I'll be back before you can even miss me!" and shook her head.

"I already miss jou Up, come back soon."

* * *

><p>With Up gone, Taz felt more alone than ever. Some nights she would lie awake and stare at the ceiling, waiting for Up to come strolling through her door and lay down in her bed with her and they would talk until it was light. They would talk about things that didn't matter, about their hopes, their fears, their dreams, their families, they would talk about anything, just being glad for each other's company and that they had someone to talk with about these things. Of course, Up never did come to keep her company, but it was nice to think that he would. Some nights, though very few, Taz would sleep. These nights were the worst for her because the moment that she slept, the nightmares that only Up could keep away would return to her.<p>

Eventually, three months had passed and Taz was waiting eagerly for news of Up's return, but the starship never came. All that month she waited, but still no news ever came of Up's ship.

By the time that the month was over, Taz had isolated herself from everyone else. She would come out to get her meal when the cafeteria was mostly empty, then go straight back to her room. Sometimes she would go days without eating just so that she didn't have to speak to anyone. Taz knew that it was unhealthy, but she didn't care. Taz barely even recognized herself anymore. She now was no longer tan, since she chose not to go anywhere beside her room, she hadn't seen the sun for at least a month and she was so pale that it looked like she was constantly sick. Her days of not eating had left her looking thinner than she already did, adding to the sick look that was about her. The only thing that didn't look sick was her eyes. Her eyes burned with a fiery anger that no amount of violence could quench. Whenever her eyes landed on someone, she sent them running away as quick as their legs would take them.

Taz's crew had noticed the obvious changes in her behavior and appearance and were beginning to get worried about her. The few times that they had tried to comfort her, however, had ended in disaster. She had countless run-ins and shouting matches with Mega-girl, had insulted Tootsie on numerous occasions (which often lead to the shouting matches), had pulled her knife (and used it) on Krayonder at least a dozen times, and had Specs crying on more than one occasion. It was ultimately to her team's relief when she took to her room for days on end.

After five months were up, Taz was left to pacing her room restlessly. Her anger was built up inside her and, desperate to release some of it, she brought her fist back and punched the wall, breaking through the drywall and hitting the concrete behind it. Taz doubled over in pain, cradling her hand. Before she knew it, Taz was screaming and swearing at the wall in her native tounge.

"_Vete a la mierda, maldito muro!_" She slid to the ground and sobbed dryly into her one good hand, all of her tears were gone; she had nothing left to cry. She had never felt so miserable and alone. Soon, however, her sorrow turned into anger at the world, at the other rangers, at Up. He broke his promise. He said that he would be back and he lied. No one lied to Tazia Garcia Lopez! "_Vete a la mierda Up, usted ha mentido a mí!_ _Usted dijo que estaría de vuelta, pero usted mintió! Usted has dejado me solo usted hijo de puta! Espero que mueren en el que extraterrestre planeta usted hijo de puta! __Espero que mueren frío y solo porque No quiero volver a verte otra vez! _"

She curled up into a tight ball and sobbed, repeating over and over, "_Estoy solo, usted me dejaste solo. ¿Por qué hiciste eso a mí, Up? Yo confié en usted, pero usted mintió y ahora estoy solo, Siempre voy a estar solo."_


	2. Chapter 2: You're Not Alone

**Here's part two! I would like to dedicate this part to the two most wonderful readers ever, NyokaDelFanfiction and edgeygavin who were the only two (so far) to review. I would like to apologize to **NyokaDelFanfiction**** though because Up does get beaten up a little :) ****

****I was going to separate this into two parts because I thought that it would be easier to read, but I decided that you guys can handle it! ****

****As usual, anything not in english can be translated using Google translate (hopefully it translates correct this time!) Please, please, please tell me what you think. I know I'm not updating it anymore so you guys don't have much of an initiative to review it, but I'm hoping you will anyway! So, without further ado, here's the epic (not so much) ending to You're Not Alone!****

* * *

><p>Taz screamed out in pain, the noise echoing across the barren wasteland that was once her home and village. Her scream was carried away in the wind, but Taz knew that no one would hear her die slowly because everyone she knew and loved was already dead, their bodies charred and blackened below her feet. As Taz was hanging from the tree the robots had put her in, she heard the unmistakable sound of her captors approaching her, having finally slaughtered every last member of her family. She closed her eyes tightly against the bright red lights that acted as their eyes, but they burned through her eyelids. Taz tensed when she felt a robot come to stand next to her. It said something to its comrades in a language that she didn't understand and its companions burst out in mechanical laughter; the noise was sick to her. A strong, metal hand came across her face and she was forced to open her eyes in pain and what she saw haunted her.<p>

Below her were the charred remains of her mother and father, their faces frozen in a halfway smile that mocked her, knowing that they would never smile again, knowing that she would never smile with them again.

"_Mamá, papá_." Tears spread down her cheeks and dripped off her chin slowly as she thought of her entire family slaughtered by these _hijos de puta__._ Another fist landed itself on her stomach, efficiently knocking the wind out of her and leaving her gasping for breath as she sobbed her heart out. Never had she felt so alone when she knew that she was going to die and no one would be alive that would care. She was going to die, and no one would remember her.

The entire scene swirled sickeningly, leaving Taz dizzy and breathless as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Great, just great she was going to die, but she didn't care anymore. She welcomed the unconsciousness, hoping that when she was dead the pain would go away.

"_Mamá__."_

Death welcomed her, blissfully numb.

"_Papá__." _

She was going to die…

* * *

><p>February woke up with a start, the screams coming from the room next to hers and Bug's troubled her. While she may not be the smartest girl, she still had a heart and knew that if someone was screaming like that then they must be in trouble. She got out of bed carefully, making sure not to jostle the bed too much so that Bug wouldn't wake up. She grabbed her bathrobe before walking out into the deserted hallway. She stopped outside of the room that she was sure the screams had come from, but it didn't make sense to her. The room she stopped in front of was Taz's room, which made her think that she dreamt the entire thing. Why would Taz scream? February had never heard the girl scream unless she was really pissed off, but the screams she had heard weren't screams that someone made when they were pissed off, they were screams that someone would make if they were in serious pain or trouble.<p>

She was satisfied that she had imagined the entire thing and was ready to go back to her warm bed, but as she was turning around she once again heard the screams, and she was sure that they were coming from Taz's room. Without thinking, she turned back and practically ran up to Taz's door. She tried opening it, but found that it was locked from the inside. Quickly pulling out a bobby pin from her hair, she stuck it into the control panel and, with a few wiggles, the door slid open soundlessly. February rushed into the room to see Taz lying in bed and thrashing around restlessly. February was relieved that Taz wasn't being hurt and was ready to go back to bed again, but when she heard Taz scream for the third time, she knew that she was probably being hurt in her dreams. February went over to Taz's side and shook her a few times, trying to stir her but Taz didn't wake up. Knowing that she was going to get hell for it, February picked up a glass of water from Taz's bedside table and quickly splashed Taz's face with it.

That seemed to do the trick because Taz shot up quickly in her bed, her eyes opening at once. Taz saw February staring at her and she looked down at her wet self before looking back at February again. February knew that she was pissed, but she didn't care.

"What da hell was dat for?" Taz shouted at the science officer, but February surprisingly didn't back down.

"You were having a nightmare or something, so I woke you up." Taz dimly remembered what she had been dreaming about, the night of her _Quinceañera_, the robots, all of her family dead and she shivered despite herself. February reached out to put a hand on Taz's shoulder and the small woman stiffened immediately.

"Sorry for waking jou up, it won't happen again." Taz's voice was flat and February knew that she was trying to send her on her way, but she wasn't leaving without knowing what was going on.

"I don't mind, I wasn't really sleeping anyway." That was a lie, but she didn't care. February knew enough about girls to know that something was troubling Taz, and she wanted to know what it was. February settled herself next to Taz on her bed, leaning her back against the wall and showing no signs of moving. Taz narrowed her eyes dangerously, but February pretended not to notice.

"Jou can go back to sleep now, jou know,"

"Yeah, I know."

Taz sighed heavily. "What do jou want?" February looked shocked; Taz wasn't forcing her out of her room and slamming the door on her face like she had thought she would.

"I want to know what's wrong with you. Ever since Up left, you've been moping around and terrorizing everyone. Now you're having nightmares and waking up people who need their beauty sleep, and I want to know why." Taz shrugged.

"How would I know why I'm having nightmares? Do I look like I have a degree in psychology?" February wanted to smack Taz for being so frustrating, but she knew that that wouldn't end well for her. She had a suspicion that Taz knew why she was having these nightmares, but she figured that trying to push the small girl would only end in disaster. Giving up on that, she switched tactics.

"Fine then. I want to know what you were dreaming about." She saw something flash in Taz's eyes; fear? Before she could be sure it was gone.

"If I tell jou, will jou leave me alone?" February nodded and Taz sighed, knowing that this was the only way to get the irritating _idiota_to leave her alone. "Fine. I was dreaming about the day of my _Quinceañera__._" February looked confused, as usual, so Taz explained. "A_Quinceañera_is a girl's coming of age, or her fifteenth birthday."

Once again February looked confused, which wasn't an uncommon look for her.

"Wouldn't that be a good thing to dream about? Why were you screaming then?"

"Because during my party, robots crashed it and killed my entire _familia__._" That shut the girl up at once, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. They sat in silence for a while until February whispered,

"I'm sorry." Taz waved a hand, dismissing the entire thing.

"Don't be, I'm over it," February nodded, but she could tell that Taz obviously wasn't over it, especially if she was still having nightmares about it ten years later. She realized with a start that the Taz that she was seeing right now wasn't the tough Taz that everyone knew, even though she was obviously trying to hide her feelings from her. February realized that this must be the Taz that only Taz allows Up to see, the Taz that shows her emotions to others and who is just as vulnerable as the rest of them, if not more. Up, it all came down to him. When he was gone, Taz acted like a terror, but when he was here he was the only person who could calm her down. Up was the only one who understood Taz, because he already had seen her at her worst. He was there for her from the start, after the incident at her party he had rescued her and made her what she was today. Up; it all came down to Up.

"You miss Up." February didn't mean to blurt it out like that, but now it was hanging there, waiting for Taz to confirm or deny it.

"I do not, e's on a mission and I know that e's busy."

"That doesn't mean that you can't miss him, unless…" it was all making sense now, why the two of them hung out all the time, why Taz seemed gentler around Up, why she was having these nightmares when he wasn't here. Of course, it was so obvious now. "You love Up." Taz's cheeks flushed deeply, confirming what February already knew.

"I do not; e's my friend dats all. E's my commander, it would be wrong." February shook her head stubbornly.

"I've seen the way you look at him, you love him for sure."

"I do not! Quit saying dat or I'll make jou."

"I'll stop saying it when you admit it."

"I won't admit someding dats not true."

"You love Up."

"I do not."

"You love Up."

"I do not!"

"You love Up!"

"I DO NOT!" Taz was upon February in a matter of seconds, holding her knife to the girl's throat. "_¡CÁLLATE! _C_ÁLLATE, QUE NO ES VERDAD!_" Taz was yelling in Spanish, and February didn't have a clue as to what she was saying, all she knew was that Taz was furious.

"Taz, are you going to stab me just because I'm telling you something that you already know?" Her words must have had an impact on her because Taz's knife flicked shut quickly, and she was off of February as quickly as she had pinned her down. February sat up slowly, rubbing her neck and looking at Taz in shock. Taz looked at her quickly, before casting her eyes downward, looking at the floor. The silence between the two of them deepened and when February couldn't stand it any longer, Taz spoke.

"Fine, maybe jour right. Maybe I do…" she struggled with the words, "…love Up." Taz didn't know why she was telling this _idiota_ what she wouldn't even tell herself, maybe so someone could finally know. "But even though I do, it's not like 'e loves me back. To 'im I'm just an_estúpido_ kid. 'E'd never love me." February didn't know what to say, Taz sounded so lost and so…alone. So, she said the only thing that made sense.

"Taz, Up does love you." Taz whipped her head around and glared at February.

"How do jou know?" February sighed as if it was obvious.

"Because I've seen the way that he looks at you! You can't possibly tell me that that you've never noticed it before." Taz shook her head. "Well, I have. Trust me; he likes you…a lot." February thought that this would reassure Taz, but instead she only got angrier.

"What do jou know? Nothing! Up doesn't love me; jou're just saying dat to make me feel better!" She flicked out her knife again. "But if jou breathe a word of me liking Up to anyone, I will be sure that it's da last word jou ever breathe!" February nodded, terrified. "Now get out of my room and _déjame en Paz_!" February fled from Taz's room, leaving her quite alone.

Taz stared at the place where February had been seconds ago and, breathing hard, shut her knife and set it on her nightstand. She sat down on the edge of her bed and lowered her face into her shaking hands. She knew that she shouldn't have threatened February; the girl was only trying to comfort her but she had pushed Taz too far. February had said aloud all the things that Taz wouldn't even let herself dwell on long enough. She knew that Up didn't love her, he had more sense than that. To him she was just some stupid kid, of course they were friends but that's all they would ever be. Taz was too tough; no one ever loved the girls that were tougher than them. Maybe that's why Taz had always hoped that Up could love her, because while she was tough he was, and always would be, tougher. Instead of accepting people's help and reassurance, she pushed them away with her hard outer shell. Instead of letting others, even those who she could call friends, comfort her she would yell at them, insult them and if that didn't work, use her knife to send them packing. She was, and always would be, alone.

Desperate for something else to think about, Taz got up and quickly grabbed a book from her full bookshelf and sat down, determined to let herself be pulled into the compilation of short stories that were in the book in front of her. She opened the book to the cover page and saw the inscription her parents had written there when they gave this book to her for her fifth birthday. After her catastrophic _Quinceañera_she had looked in her ruined house and tried to salvage all that she could. This book was the only one that she could find. The inscription read:

"_A __nuestra hija, esperamos que usted será capaz de encontrar Consuelo en las páginas de este libro. Te amamos con todo nuestro corazón y queremos desearte un cumpleaños feliz. Sabemos que usted a crecer para ser una mujer hermosa, joven y fuerte y que a hacer que nos sintamos orgullosos. "_

Without warning, tears sprang to Taz's eyes and before she could stop them, they were pouring down her cheeks and dripping off her chin.

"_Mamá. Papá." _They died for no reason; they died at the hands of those _hijos de puta_ for no reason at all, simply because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Taz's hands shook because of her sorrow and anger. It was their entire fault; they were the reason that she had no one. Taz almost wished that the Robot Wars weren't over just so that she could hunt them down and kill them all. Kill them because of what they did to her family, what they did to her parents, what they did to her, and what they did to Up. Up, no matter how much she wished it didn't, his name struck something in her, something halfway between fury and adoration. She was angry that he lied to her, that he wasn't here now but no matter how mad she got with him, she still loved him with all of her heart.

With a cry of frustration, Taz threw the book she was holding away from her. It hit the wall and landed on the ground with a dull "thud", and Taz knew that its spine had been broken. She crept over to where the destroyed book had landed and cradled in gently in her hands. She ran her hand over the pages, her tears splashing down upon them. The book was ruined, and she had no one to blame but herself. It was the only thing besides a picture of her parents that she had to remember them by, and she ruined it. Once again, her anger and frustration had left her with nothing but pain. Once again, she was alone.

* * *

><p>Up looked out the Starship's window at the approaching loading dock and his heart soared. Soon, he would be with Taz, where he belonged. When the ship landed on the dock, Up made sure that he was the first one out of it. All of the other rangers and himself were greeted with loud applause and their shipmates cheering them on; the welcome home party had begun. While all of the other rangers were partaking in the festivities, Up looked around for the only person he was longing to see and his heart fell when he did not see Taz among the crowd. He started heading toward his room to drop his stuff off and on his way he met Krayonder in the hallway.<p>

"Commander Up, man! I can't believe you're back!" Up nodded to Krayonder.

"Yeah, it was a hard mission and it took longer than we expected, but we're finally back." Krayonder was about to say something else, but Up cut him off. "You haven't seen Taz around here, have you?" At the mention of Taz, Krayonder's face darkened and for a second Up felt his heart stop. "Please don't let her be hurt," he thought to himself. "I won't be able to forgive myself if she's hurt."

"I expect Taz is probably in her room, that's where she is most of the time nowadays." Up thought that he must have heard the boy wrong.

"She's where?"

"In her room, most days she just stays there. In fact, I haven't seen her in about…" Krayonder mentally counted out the days, "six days, thank Dead God." Up thought this was very rude for Krayonder to say, especially about a superior officer.

"Why? What has she done?" Krayonder lifted up his sleeve and pointed to a long, slightly healed cut.

"This," he pointed to a short, stab shaped scar. "this," he turned his arm around and pointed to three cuts. "This, this, this," finally, he pulled down the collar of his shirt to show Up a thin line going across his neck where Taz had obviously pressed her knife into his skin awfully hard "…and this." Up was speechless.

"I'm guessing that she hasn't been happy that I've been gone for this long, has she?" Krayonder shook his head.

"No sir, if you hadn't gotten here sooner I'm betting that the board would probably have kicked her off of the Starship." This news shocked Up.

"She's been that bad?"

"You have no idea." Up dropped his stuff in the hallway and left Krayonder standing alone without saying goodbye. Without thinking, Up ran the entire way to Taz's room, stopping at the door. When he tried to open it, he found it locked. Although Taz usually locked her door, with her current state of mind the locked door troubled him. He knocked loudly, the sound echoing in the empty hallway. Everyone else was at the celebration, leaving the entire ship eerily vacant. When he got no response, he knocked again this time louder. He was met with shouting.

"_DESAPARECER! NO QUIERO HABLAR!"_ Around Taz's shouting, he heard her tears in her voice and he pried the door open.

What he saw inside of Taz's room disturbed him. Her entire room had been torn apart, the few possessions she owned were scattered around her floor and her sheets were crumpled into a ball at the foot of her bed. The only thing that was in place, besides her books, was the picture of the two of them that was taken during the celebration at the end of the Robot Wars. That was after he had his injury and, despite being half robot, Taz still had her arm around him and the two of them were grinning widely. The Taz in the picture, however, didn't resemble the Taz that he was now staring at, at all.

Taz had clearly been spending days upon end in her room, and he doubted that she had eaten for days. Taz was so thin that it was frightening to him, and her skin made her look like she was very ill. There were bags under her eyes, telling him that she hadn't been sleeping much, if at all and her hair hung down in front of her face, her bandanna long gone. Up hadn't realized how much his absence would have affected her; he thought that she would just be mad at him for being gone for so long. It was clear to him now, however, that his being gone had affected her drastically. He knelt down in front of her and he saw tears streaming down her face, though she wasn't making any noise. She was holding her book of Mexican short stories in her hands. He was familiar with the book and its stories, Taz had read them to him during the countless days they had spent together and when she read them to him in her native tongue, it sounded like music to him, his own music. The book now, however, was now in a state of disrepair, its spine obviously broken and its pages stained from what he assumed were Taz's tears. Up was wondering if Taz had even recognized his presence when she spoke to him in her native tongue, as if talking in English would be too much work for her.

"_Es se roto," _her voice was flat and completely devoid of emotion, which scared Up more than anything.

"Don't worry, Taz we can get it fixed." Taz looked up at him and her eyes widened.

"Up?" He nodded and reached out to hug her, but before he could wrap his arms around her, she was upon him. She punched him in the middle of the stomach and he doubled over, not expecting her to hit him at all.

"_¿Dónde has estado! He estado esperando por ti pero usted nunca vino de nuevo!__" _Up knew how to speak Spanish, but Taz was speaking so fast that he couldn't keep up with her. Her fists were flying everywhere and when they landed on him, pain erupted. He quickly grabbed her hands, preventing her further assault on him. They stared at each other and Up saw a fire unlike anything he had ever seen in her once kind eyes. Though she had her reputation of being tough, she once had the most beautiful eyes Up had ever seen, but now they blazed furiously and if Up hadn't known who it was in front of him, he wouldn't have known that it was her. Up tried to remain calm, speaking sharply as he knew that he had to do to calm the small girl down.

"Taz, English please." Taz shot him a dirty look and winced as he squeezed her hands, forcing her to look at him.

"Jou're hurting my hand, sir." She spat the last part, but Up ignored it and released her hands after which she rubbed her left hand gently, wincing slightly.

"What did you do to your hand?" Taz didn't speak, but he saw her eyes dart quickly to the wall behind him. Up turned and saw a small hole in the drywall going all the way back to the concrete, the exact size of Taz's fists. "Why did you punch the wall?" She shrugged.

"I figured jou'd rather dat than my punching a person." Up chuckled and walked into her bathroom, where he ignored the awful state that it was in and grabbed the first aid kit. He sat down on her bed and patted the spot next to him. She sat down reluctantly and let him put cream on her bruised knuckles before he bandaged it up. He knew that they would have to talk sooner or later, and he decided that sooner was probably better.

"Taz, why haven't you been keeping yourself healthy?" she shrugged as if it was no big deal, but she didn't respond. He stopped his process of wrapping up her hand and forced her chin up, making her look him in the eye. "Look at yourself Taz, you're a mess. Did you think that I wouldn't notice when I got back that you've dropped about twenty pounds and now are as pale as your sheets?" She shrugged again, but Up noticed the troubled look on her face. She looked away from him and he thought back to what he had said, and realized what was troubling her. "You didn't think that I was coming back, did you Taz?" No response. He was worried that she was never going to answer him. "Taz?" she nodded reluctantly.

"Jou said dat jou'd be back Up, and I thought jou lied to me." Her behavior made sense to him now. He pulled her to him and hugged her tightly, which she returned. They sat there for a long time, both taking solace in each other's contact and presence. Taz buried her face into Up's chest and he heard her mumble something unintelligible. He chuckled.

"What?" she brought her head back up and her cheeks flamed.

"I'm sorry I hit jou." He just laughed.

"Taz, I can take a punch, I'm tough." Taz smiled and leaned her head on his chest, happy for him to be with her once again.

"I missed jou Up, when I thought that jou weren't coming back I…" she hesitated, "I lost it." Up nodded, understanding completely.

"I know what you mean Taz, when I was on my mission I wasn't exactly fun to be around either." Taz giggled. "I'm almost positive that Lieutenant Randolph needs therapy now," Taz giggled louder.

"I'm almost positive that 'e needed therapy before jou got jour claws into 'im," Up nodded.

"Probably," they sat there in silence, both of them absorbed in their own thoughts. Taz thought of what February had told her, but she brushed those thoughts away. Up was her best friend, and she didn't want to ruin that by telling him how she felt. If he didn't feel the same way, no matter what February said, then it would make things awkward between them, and things were never awkward between them.

Up snuggled Taz closer to him, thankful to Dead God that he was finally with her again. The last five months had been hellish with her gone from him and he wanted nothing more than to spend all of his time with her now. He longed to tell her how he felt, how she made him feel but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. He promised himself that he would tell her in time, but he would give her time to recuperate and heal first.

After a while, Up got off Taz's bed and put _The Karate Kid _(the Jackie Chan one) into the DVD player of her tiny TV. He settled back on her bed, leaning up against the headboard and she sat on his lap, lying back on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and set his head onto her head. As the movie played on, Taz felt her eyes slowly droop and she allowed herself to close them, knowing that Up would keep the nightmares away. She sighed, content as she snuggled into Up, breathing in his scent and knowing that the Starship was home to her once again. She heard Up start to snore lightly and smiled to herself, having missed the sound. When she was absolutely sure that he was deep asleep, Taz leaned over and whispered quietly.

"_Te amo Up, Yo siempre te he amado." _


	3. Chapter 3: You're Never Alone

**I know that I said that this fanfic was done, but I promised Bballgirl4 a sequel/happy ending! Here you go! **

**P.S: sorry about February getting threatened...again. It's just too easy to write parts with Taz threatening February (probably because I don't like February much...).**

* * *

><p>"So, I just wanted to say…sorry," Taz stood in front of her fellow Starship Rangers, but she wasn't looking at them. She was staring at the floor intently, not wanting to meet any of their eyes. Up cleared his throat to break the awkward pause that followed her apology.<p>

"Taz, um, I think maybe you could be maybe more…sincere with your apology," Taz glared up at him and sighed, giving up.

"Fine. Look, I'm sorry that I insulted jou all. Tootsie, I'm sorry that I called you a hay-loving moron and Specs I'm sorry that I broke your Spectrometer." Specs sniffed and looked away, not quite ready to forgive the girl yet. Tootsie, however, smiled.

"Aw, it's okay. I know what it's like to be separated from the person you love." Taz stiffened.

"What did jou say?"

"No, I'm just sayin' that it's hard to be away from someone you love." Spots of embarrassment and anger appeared on the small woman's cheeks.

"I don't love Up." Up shuffled uncomfortably behind her, not wanting to admit that he loved her. "He's my commander." February stepped forward.

"But Taz, you totally love Up. It's like I told you two months ago, you already know that! You just have to admit it!" Taz was upon the girl in minutes.

"Jou said that jou would never tell anyone dat!" Taz had February pinned underneath her, her knife already pressed to the struggling girl's throat. "_Me prometiste que, mentir puta!_" February struggled under Taz's knife and before she could press any harder, Up drug Taz off of the defenseless girl. Taz saw Bug help February to her feet and hug her. For some reason, this pushed Taz over the edge.

"_Que se merece todo lo que obtiene por mentir a mí!_" Taz pushed at Up, who was still restraining her. "Let me go, Up! Let me go right now or I'll throw all jour clothes overboard!" Up just chuckled.

"It wouldn't be the first time, Taz." Taz scowled and went limp, seemingly giving up. When the Commander tried setting her down, however, she shoved him over and ran towards February, who was now hiding behind Bug.

The last thing she saw was Megagirl stepping out of the crowd and pointing her laser at her…

* * *

><p>Up walked over to the unconscious Taz and gently picked her up. Before he took her to her room, he turned towards February.<p>

"Is it true, what you said?" February nodded.

"Yes. She loves you, Up! And I know you love her, you just have to tell her." Up nodded and quietly made his way back to Taz's room.

* * *

><p>Taz opened her eyes and saw Up bending over her, looking concerned. She sat up and rubbed her head.<p>

"_¿Qué pasó?" _

"Megagirl shot you with a stun laser before you could kill February." For some reason, Up looked hesitant. It seemed like he was trying to keep something from her.

"What is it, Up?" Instead of answering, Up stood up from his place on her bed and walked over to the small window in the room.

"Do you remember when we first met, Taz?" Taz remembered.

"_Sí_." Up swallowed and continued with the speech that he had rehearsed in his head.

"When I first met you, you were only this girl that fell into my lap that I had to deal with. Then, as you got trained in the Academy, you became this girl that I felt responsible for. Then you grew into so much more, Taz. You grew into my lieutenant, my partner in crime, and my best friend." He turned around. "You're my best friend, Taz. You stood by me when everyone else thought that I was just a washed up loser. You helped me find myself, and for that I'm eternally grateful. What I'm trying to say, Taz is…" Up hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. "What I'm trying to say is that I love you." He laughed. "I have loved you for a long time and if you don't feel that way about me too, that's okay. I just thought you should know." Taz got up and walked over to him. She looked up, her tear-filled brown eyes looking into his light blue eyes and she knew that he was being honest. Taz wrapped her arms around Up and hugged her best friend.

"_Te amo demasiado, _Up_._" Up hugged her back tightly.

"Taz, this is the start of a new adventure for us," Taz wholeheartedly agreed.


End file.
